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Plein air artists grace new FSPW note cards.

Dozens of pieces of original art featuring the proposed Scotchman Peaks Wilderness are created annually during two plein air events sponsored by Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness. The Scotchman Peaks Paintout, cosponsored by the Outskirts Gallery in Hope, Idaho, takes place in September. The Extreme Plein Air is a backcountry expedition in the tradition of Thomas Moran during which artists immerse themselves in the wilderness.

The art created in these events is sold to benefit the artist, Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness and the galleries in which they hang, supporting the arts as well as wilderness advocacy in Montana and Idaho.

Four of these paintings, from both the exterior and interior of the proposed wilderness, now grace a set of four note card to be used by the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness as thank-you notes, donor appreciation gifts and some limited retail sails of sets of four cards. FSPW exec Phil Hough says, “These are a really beautiful way to support the artists who so graciously allowed us to use their images as well as to continue to get the message out about the Scotchmans.”

This set of four note cards depict paintings from the Extreme Plein Air and the Scotchman Peaks Paintout. Clockwise from upper left, 48-Hour Pass by Aaron Johnson, Scotchman Peak by Gregg Caudell, Sawtooth Mountain by Kenny Olsen, and Melissa Basin by Jared Shear

Extreme Plein Air hikers Jared Shear and Aaron Johnson both contributed pieces painted in the heart of the wilderness, 48-Hour Pass from Johnson and Melissa Basin from Shear. Greg Caudell and Kenny Olsen, painting during the annual September Scotchman Peaks Paintout, contributed images of two iconic mountains of the Scotchmans, Scotchman Peak by Caudell and Sawtooth Mountain by Olsen.

The originals of these pieces, with the exception of Caudell’s, are part of a collection of Scotchman Peaks art on display at the Outskirts Gallery in Hope, Idaho. Caudell’s painting is on loan to Idaho’s US Senator Mike Crapo, and hangs in his office in Washington, D.C. Art can also be viewed online here.

Sets of four will be available for $10 at Outskirts Gallery soon.

About The Author:

Sandy Compton is the program coordinator for Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness. He grew up on a small farm/woodlot at the south end of the proposed wilderness and lives there still.

He is a storyteller and author of both fiction and non-fiction books, and the publisher at bluecreekpress.com.